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Alexander Magnum III
Alexander Magnum III, born Maximilian Paul Magnum (June 23, 4030 - October 9, 4129), is the first and current leader of Ár Ré. He was also the 3rd and last Leader of the Conservative Party of Kirlawa, having been elected in the leadership election of 4059 conducted after Malagasy Thatcher's resignation and death. He is based in the constituency of Luthori, Nuchtmark, and previously worked as a Professor of Luthori at the University of Luthi. He was the President of Kirlawa from July 4059 until his deselection from the party in January 4081 elections. As Leader of Ár Ré, he was the Prime Minister of Kirlawa and headed the Magnum III ministry from 4095 to 4100. Upon his ministry's ouster, he resigned as Leader of Ár Ré, triggering a leadership election which saw Rebecca Shimmerman succeeding Magnum. Magnum continued to be involved in Kirlawan politics as a provincial representative for Nuchtmark until 4120. He died in Telon on October 9, 4129. Background Maximilian Paul Magnum was born in the city of Luthi in Nuchtmark Province on June 23rd, 4030. He was the son of Graham Newton Magnum and Lee Swinson Jones. Graham Newton Magnum was the great-great-grandson of Alexander Magnum II, a former Chairman of the Conservative Party of Kirlawa. Magnum attended the Luthi Independent Formal School, before moving on to the Luthi Local District Institute and the Luthi College for Formal Education. He joined the Conservative Party of Kirlawa at age 17. At age 18, he attained a scholarship to study Political Science at the University of Luthi, and earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). He moved on to study his Masters at age 21, followed by his Doctorate at age 23. Upon receiving his doctorate in 4055, he entered the Faculty of Political Science at his alma mater. He had already entered the General Assembly in 4052. Early political career (4052 - 4056) Alexander Magnum III was first selected to contest in the list vote for Nuchtmark (Luthi) in the January 4052 elections. He was reportedly placed 37th on the list. As the Conservatives won more than 40 seats in Nuchtmark at the time, Magnum was elected to the General Assembly on his first attempt to enter office. Not long after, in 4053, Magnum was appointed as the Spokesperson for Food and Agriculture. He was reelected in the January 4056 elections, and was prioritised in the party list so that he would be one of the first few to be elected to a seat. Candidacy for Leader of the CPK (4056 - 4059) Nomination In the same January 4056 elections, however, Malagasy Thatcher lost the seat of the Presidency, and her Party made significant losses in many areas. At over 300 years of age, Malagasy Thatcher decided to permanently step down once and for all, ending her uninterrupted leadership since the creation of the Party, with the exception of the period headed by Malthus Mabella. She would later die of old age in September that year. Under the Party Electoral Rules Committee and by the order of the General Executive Committee, a leadership election was triggered, with the nomination process to last until December 4056. Alexander Magnum III, already a rising star in the Party for his relation to its former Chairmen and for his eloquence in speeches, began contacting other Assembly members to support him for a potential leadership bid. On October the 13th, 4056, Alexander Magnum III announced his bid for the Leadership of the Conservative Party of Kirlawa, with assent received from seven Assembly members. He was the fourth contender to come forward, after Gisela Guinness, Paisley McIntyre and Benedict Cambridge. Within days, many Assembly members endorsed him. He received 56 public endorsements prior to the first Ballot, constituting 32.9% of the parliamentary Conservative party. Campaign Alexander Magnum III sought to continue the direction of the Party under its previous leader, Malagasy Thatcher. He was a free-marketeer, socially liberal and fairly militarist in outlook. He is notably more pro-immigration and anti-surveillence than his predecessor, and also wishes to withdraw Kirlawa from legislatively-binding treaties, although not to the same extent as McIntyre and Guinness. However, he has been criticised for being young and inexperienced, and for continuing the "Magnum dynasty", as he is directly related to Alexander Magnum, the party's founder, and Alexander Magnum II, a previous Chairman. He differentiated himself from other candidates in various ways. Benedict Cambridge, his nearest rival, painted himself as more "moderate" and willing to move the Party to the centre, while Paisley McIntyre wanted to move the Party to the right and was seen as a radical libertarian maverick. Gisela Guinness was more focused on the withdrawal of Kirlawa from treaties, whereas Patrick O'Shaughnessy opted for a traditional conservative approach. Rebecca Shimmerman was the most divergent of the group as she supported Kirlawa's ratification of legislatively-binding international treaties, while all other candidates including Magnum wanted Kirlawa to withdraw. Initial opinion polls conducted before the first Ballot showed that Magnum was the clear favourite to win. He was greatly favoured by the Party membership, but Conservative voters were less likely to support him. In a poll conducted sampling general voters' candidate preferences, most opted for Benedict Cambridge at 25%, compared to Magnum's 22%. Ballots and Delegation vote A series of ballots were held from September 4058 to February 4059. Magnum convincingly won the first ballot with 56 Assembly members voting for him, compared to Cambridge's 39. Rebecca Shimmerman, who was eliminated, endorsed Gisela Guinness. In the second round of ballots, Magnum's vote increased marginally to 62 Assembly members. The largest gain was seen by Gisela Guinness. Patrick O'Shaughnessy was eliminated from the contest and endorsed Benedict Cambridge. In December, Guinness surprisingly withdrew from the leadership race and endorsed Paisley McIntyre, citing the need for a "strong candidate to withdraw Kirlawa from further treaties" as her main reason for doing so. In the third and final round of ballots, Magnum received 78 votes, to Cambridge's 59 and McIntyre's 33. Paisley McIntyre was eliminated from the race. In his concession speech, McIntyre controversially endorsed Benedict Cambridge, arguing against the "continuation of dynasterial politics" in the Conservative Party. A "delegation vote" was held in April to determine the support each candidate received from Assembly members. It was not binding but was meant to reflect the parliamentary party's preferences, which could influence the decision of the party membership, whose vote will be binding. In a shock result, the votes were near evenly split, with Cambridge garnering the majority of votes - 86 - while Magnum two less at 84. This was attributed to the movement of Paisley McIntyre's supporters to Benedict Cambridge, who rejected the "dynasterial politics" of Magnum and sought an anti-establishment candidate. Several Assembly members also switched their vote from Magnum to Cambridge after disenchantment with his campaign in the spring period, when a string of controversies erupted over the candidate. Final result In the final membership vote, Magnum won 520,176 votes, or 55.9% of the total votes cast, compared to Cambridge who received 409,995, or 44.1% of the total votes cast. Alexander Magnum III was made Leader of the Conservative Party of Kirlawa in June 4059, one month before the General and Presidential elections. His installation as Leader came on the last day of the special Party conference held in June, and the day after the election results were announced. Leader of CPK (4059 - ) Party split The results of the Delegation vote revealed a deep split within and between Party lines. Although several leadership election challengers have congratulated and endorsed Magnum III's victory as Leader, including Gisela Guinness, Rebecca Shimmerman and Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Paisley McIntyre remained adamantly opposed to the result, calling it a "disaster for democracy" and "spells the end of our Party". His comments were met with sharp criticism from many of Magnum's supporters and other Assembly members, who denounced it as provocative, divisive and ill-conceived. Fears of a second election mounted against Magnum grew when it emerged that a team of Parliamentary backbenchers, headed by Paisley McIntyre, were looking for a parliamentarian to oppose Magnum as a dark horse candidate. Benedict Cambridge ruled himself out at this stage and endorsed Magnum as Leader of the Party. Many of Cambridge's supporters also announced their congratulations to Magnum, although some were believed to be involved in McIntyre's "plot". A second election never arose. During the shadow cabinet reshuffle of the Conservative Party, which took place days before the general election, Paisley McIntyre was sacked from his post as Spokesperson for Science and Technology. Two other spokespeople were sacked, although one claimed that it was for reasons "unrelated to the crisis sparked by McIntyre". McIntyre criticised Magnum for this move. Although McIntyre was reelected in the 4059 elections, he chose to resign from the Conservative Party and re-contest his seat in Dirguzia under the Independent banner. He lost his seat to the Conservative challenger. Kirlawa general election, July 4059 Despite being in office for less than a month, the Conservative Party under Alexander Magnum III roughly maintained their share of the popular vote, surprising political analysts and betting markets. The relative inexperience of Magnum III, combined with a polarised Parliamentary party, were believed to reduce the Party's seat tally from 170 to 120. Instead, the Party gained two seats from 170 to 172, and came in first in Merkan. In the presidential elections, Alexander Magnum III came in second during the first round of voting. In the second round, Alexander Magnum III beat his direct opponent by a margin of 55 to 45, and became President of Kirlawa beginning July 4059. This was the shortest time taken for a Conservative Party leader to get elected to the post of the Presidency since his/her ascension as Leader. President of Kirlawa, first term (4059 - 4081) During Magnum's time in office, the Conservative Party of Kirlawa underwent enormous strides in the electoral vote. In the January 4063 elections, the Party attained 32.53% of the popular vote, the first time it has ever done so. The party won 256 seats, holding an over 100-seat majority over the next party, including 70 in Dirguzia, its highest ever seat total there and the first time the Party has taken the province since 3923. The party also garnered 42.22% in the first round of presidential voting, the first time it has breached the 40% mark. The party's best overall results came two years later in the snap election in March 4065. The party made yet another leap in the popular vote, taking 42.96%, the first time it has breached the 40% mark, and attained 308 seats, the first time it has surpassed the 300-seat mark. The party won in four provinces, the most it has ever done since its inception. The only province not won by the Conservatives was Dirlana, but it delivered 41 seats for the Party, the highest on record. Previous rifts in the Party, especially those held by McIntyre supporters, have healed due to the magnitude of Magnum's victories. Paisley McIntyre himself personally endorsed Magnum after the Party's victory in 4065, followed by an admission of regret to how he had treated Magnum during and after the leadership campaign. Personal life See also